Ka Pe‘ahi Lono – Monthly Message for October
Date/Time sent: 10/05/2020 11:00 amAloha mai kākou!
Our theme
E ala! E alu! E kuilima!
Awaken! Come together! Join hands!
We are six weeks into our fall 2020 semester! Mahalo nūnui to our faculty and staff for your support to maximize the efficiency of our online and hybrid classes and the success of our students! I know it is not easy but it feels like we are each finding our stride. I want to especially call out our Enrollment Management team and their partners for their tireless efforts this past six months registering new and continuing students. If you haven’t heard, at census, our enrollment was 3,168 students! This is a record fall semester for UH West Oʻahu! HULO!!
Regarding a coronavirus update: Fortunately, we have not seen a pronounced rise in health consequences, such as positive tests and hospitalizations, for our UH West Oʻahu ʻohana. We know that early detection and action remains critical to mitigating the spread of the novel coronavirus, so, we mahalo each of you (who are coming to campus) for adhering to our health and safety procedures! Please remember to orient yourself at our Safe Return to Campus site that outlines safety protocols and expectations for students, faculty, staff, and visitors on campus.
In this month’s Ka Peʻahi Lono, I encourage you to view Dr. Yong’s video on voting and gerrymandering, and read Specialist Leslie Lopez’s article on women in labor in Hawaiʻi. For many who are interested in our budgeting decision-making process I have laid out the process and timeline for you. Additionally, I encourage you to participate in our second round of conversations the week of October 12. See also our announcement for our new UH West Oʻahu newsletter and please – in the spirit of giving – consider donating to the Aloha United Way.
Our collective challenge is to sustain the passion and momentum of the university and the academic success of our students in a dynamic and changing environment. I am proud of all the important work that you are engaged in to support each other, and to support our students as they pursue a valuable degree from UH West Oʻahu. Mahalo nūnui for all you do to support our value proposition!
E mālama pono!
Maenette Benham, Chancellor
Hana Lawelawe: On Leadership
Here is an overview of the campus leadership decision-making process, presented by Dr. Walter Kahumoku, III, that targets cost efficiency, maintenance, and investments.
Purpose: To employ an evidence-based and criteria approach to decision-making for targeted cost efficiencies, stabilization, and maintenance efforts, and future invested growth areas.
Rationale: Though a single decision-making tool alone cannot help campus leaders determine with pinpoint accuracy the next steps to a sustainable campus that leads Hawaiʻi (and the world) as career creators, integrated and transdisciplinary, student-centered, premier comprehensive indigenous serving, to remain “as is” will not address the financial issues that we are facing in the next three or more years.
This campus has begun a rigorous, multi-level approach to deciding its future based on evidence that is known and what may be. As data is being gathered, decision makers can use tools like Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and others—e.g. cost per learner, future/possible ROI, current need analysis—to support decisions about cost efficiencies and future investments. Such analysis, as Harvard Business Review (Courtney, et al.) noted, is needed to determine the next steps for an educational institution.
We were moved to create the decision profile diagnostic in part because we saw so many managers relying solely on conventional capital-budgeting techniques. Most important decisions involve degrees of ambiguity and uncertainty that those approaches aren’t equipped to handle on their own.
Utilizing a tool like MCDA allows leaders to rely on data and more objective criterion to determine the future of an organization. Once the components of the MCDA are operationalized, it should take about two weeks to complete the analysis and begin the process of leadership decision-making. A year-to-year budget can quickly follow once leadership (and possibly stakeholders) have made their decisions about how best to move forward.
Using Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) as a tool for Decision-making
The following simplified MCDA matrix provides several questions that become the first step toward decision determination.
| MCDA—key questions | UH West Oʻahu Responses |
|---|---|
| What is the decision problem being addressed? | Given the impending decline in State funding, UH West Oʻahu will need to address anticipated budget reduction of $1.5M in SY2021-22, $___ in SY2022-23, and $___ in SY2023-24. To ensure that UH West Oʻahu becomes sustainable—a mix of state funding and income generation, its leadership must make important decisions about cost efficiencies and future investments. |
| What does the institution/ organization define as success? | Success—poʻokela (educational success), Kaiāulu (viable, healthy communities), Hana Lawelawe (service to our communities), Mālama ʻĀina (environmental responsibility), and Waiwai (wealth through philanthropy and sustainability). |
| What are the institution/ organization’s critical success factors/criteria for success? | To achieve success, UH West Oʻahu will endeavor to “generate financial sustainability, innovation, and 21st Century leadership throughout the next 10 years”. The four criterion to be used are:
*These four criterion represent the ways in which each proposed strategic tactic—the way in which we will achieve financial sustainability, innovation, and 21st Century leadership—can be reviewed to create a portfolio of strategic tactics. |
| What is the weight of each criterion that collectively will help the institution/organization best achieve success? | Weighted Formula
|
| How can (and what types of) data/evidence be gathered (quickly) to score all possible/appropriate strategic tactics—ways to solve the decision problem based on the criteria for success? | *NOTE: all data and analyses are accessible at this moment; none of the tools are being proposed if we cannot produce data/analysis within 3-5 days.
OF—Innovations Analysis (innovative practices that have translated into funding opportunities), Future Development Analysis (Industry Trends applied to new courses/program development; Current and Future Market Employment Data; others. CVP—Facilities costs per unit, Energy Efficiency Analysis—electricity, sewage, water, Future Energy Efficiencies Analysis—solar and other renewable energies to offset current and future energy costs. VC—Cost per Learner per unit (Cost [staffing—salary, fringe + Resources/ Materials + Facilities + Misc] – Tuition + Other Operations-related Revenue), Organizational Structure Analysis (current staffing, staffing needs analysis), others. SP—System Uniqueness (possible growth potential areas), Risk Analysis (political, societal, industry, cultural, internal/external risks), others. |
References:
Courtney, H., Lovallo, D., & Clarke, C. (2013). Decision Making: Deciding How to Decide. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2013/11/
Here is our Work In-Progress Calendar of Activities:
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September 2020: Campus Conversations (4 campus-wide, 10 individual and focus groups, 60+ individual contributions = an estimated 140 participants).
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September 25 – 30: Continued collection of campus feedback and analysis (clustering strategic tactics)
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September 29 – October 9: Campus leadership engages in MCDA process, discussion, and analysis of potential strategic tactics
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Saturday, October 10: Campus leadership retreat to define DRAFT I of 3-year Tactical Plan (FY21, 22, and 23) with placeholders for FY 24-28.
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Week of October 12: Campus Discussions and Feedback on DRAFT I of 3-year Tactical Plan (FY21, 22, 23).
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October 19-30: Campus leadership revise and refine to generate DRAFT II of 3-year Tactical Plan (FY21, 22, 23) to present to UH-System/BOR.
Any questions, please contact Chancellor Benham (uhwochan@hawaii.edu) or Dr. Kahumoku (wk@hawaii.edu).
A Celebration of Good Works: Kūlia i ka nuʻu (Reach for the Summit!)
We would like to announce the launch of our new online newsletter
The UH West Oʻahu Communications Department is excited to announce the launch of Ka Puna O Kaloʻi, a new online newsletter that is replacing E Kamakani Hou. Ka Puna O Kaloʻi will showcase the scholarly and professional accomplishments of UH West Oʻahu students, faculty, alumni, and programs.
It promotes fun, engaging, and entertaining news, profiles, and events for our campus community. “Ka Puna O Kaloʻi” translates into “The Spring of Kaloʻi,” one of the springs in Honouliuli Ahupuaʻa that supplied water to some who lived in the area that now serves as home to UH West Oʻahu. Please submit stories for consideration via the Communications Department’s official Communications Request Form. To receive monthly highlights from Ka Puna O Kaloʻi, subscribe here.
Ka Puna O Kaloʻi features a new Spotlight section, as well as a collaboration with the James & Abigail Campbell Library to showcase our faculty and student publications through DSpace.
E Kamakani Hou articles will still be available, but new content will now be shared via Ka Puna O Kaloʻi. Special thank you to IT’s Erin Kim and Communications Department’s Brian Miyamoto and Zenaida Serrano Arvman for their help in the creation of this new site.
Other celebratory news:
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Student engagement survey findings ‘very positive’ for UH West Oʻahu
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Six recipients of prestigious scholarships express gratitude, desire to succeed
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Faculty awarded $50K grant to study COVID’s impact on indigenous teaching
HULO Specialist Leslie Lopez! Please see her recent publication in Hawaiʻi Landscape: The Voice of Hawaiʻi’s Green Industry, entitled, Sisters Under the Skin: Diversity of Women and Labor in Hawaiʻi. See attachment.
How Does that Work?
If you didnʻt see the recent post in the UH News that focused on teaching videos that our own Dr. Kamuela Yong produced on the mathematics of voting and the mathematics of gerrymandering take some time to view it!
Share this with family and friends! Many thanks to Kamuela for sharing these resources with us.
Announcements
The 2020 Aloha United Way campaign is underway. Together we can help those who need help the most. As we adapt to a new way of living under very stressful times, the masks we wear cannot hide our aloha spirit. Our campus is small but we can make a significant difference in the lives of so many neighbors. See the attached brochure.
Donations collected throughout the University of Hawaiʻi so far are at $77,000! That’s $7,000.00 ahead of the same time last year! The campus breakdown is as follows:
- UH Community Colleges$12,761
- UH System$14,577
- UH Manoa$48,361
- UH West Oʻahu$1,600
The remaining weeks of the campaign will be the busiest so please don’t forget to give! Information can be found at www.unitedtoact.org/
- username: UH email address (johnsmith@hawaii.edu)
- password: uhauw2020 (reset after logging in)
Thank you for your generosity!
Contact Chris Neves at 689-2773 or cabralch@hawaii.edu if you have any questions.
Please refer to our weekly bulletins or E Kamakani Hou for more information, updates, news, and announcements